Top tech and startup stories this week

Welcome to a new edition of ETtech Unwrapped – our weekend newsletter packed with the most important stories this week. Let’s take a look.

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Fintechs keep fingers crossed for festive rebound: Digital lenders are anticipating a turnaround in FY26, after more than a year of a slowdown amid growth pangs, expecting the coming festive season to trigger a revival of the unsecured credit business.

I-Day, Rakhi sales signal more festive cheer for ecommerce: India's ecommerce players are preparing for their busiest festive season in years, with early signs indicating a 15–20% increase in order volumes, driven by initial sale events and strong demand during Independence Day and Raksha Bandhan.

Dhindsa leads Rs 419-crore Eternal Esop exercise: More than 140 executives at Zomato and Blinkit's parent, Eternal, have exercised employee stock options worth Rs 419 crore over July 29 and 30.


H-1B children's green card at risk under new rules: Children of Indians on H-1B and other non-immigrant US visas could now ‘age out’ before being considered for green cards, following changes to the country's immigration rules.

Also Read: ETtech Explainer: What is the new H-1B wage-based selection all about

Crisis-hit global chip firms vie for Indian partnerships: Global semiconductor firms reeling from financial pressure are actively exploring strategic partnerships in India, drawn by the country's expanding digital economy and generous government subsidies.

NPCI to stop UPI pull transactions from November: The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has instructed banks and UPI apps to halt all person-to-person (P2P) pull transactions as of October 31 to curb fraud via Unified Payments Interface.

Indian GenAI firms turn into bigger investment magnets: India's generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) startups pulled $524 million in funding in the first seven months of 2025—four times the $129 million raised in 2021, and comfortably ahead of the $475 million total for all of last year.

P2P lenders look to RBI for regulatory relief: Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms are knocking on the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) door, seeking relief as the sector grapples with stringent rules that have gutted business.

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Nykaa's Q1 net profit up 79% to Rs 24 crore: FSN E-Commerce, parent of omnichannel beauty and lifestyle retailer Nykaa, reported a 79% rise in consolidated net profit for Q1 FY26 as its core business maintained momentum.

FirstCry parent’s Q1 revenue up 13%, losses narrow: Brainbees Solutions, the parent of mother and baby care retailer FirstCry, narrowed its consolidated net loss by 12% year-on-year (YoY) in the quarter ended June, as various business segments reported growth.

Honasa Q1 revenue climbs 7%: Honasa Consumer, parent of Mamaearth, recorded its highest-ever quarterly revenue in Q1 FY26, pushing consolidated profit up by 2.7%.

Nazara's Q1 net profit up 118%, revenue doubles: Nazara Technologies posted a 118% rise in net profit to Rs 51.3 crore during the April-June quarter, compared to Rs 23.6 crore a year earlier, driven by gains across its gaming portfolio.

Also Read: Unicommerce’s Q1 international arm turns operationally profitable

Awfis reports 3x surge in Q1 profit: Coworking space provider Awfis Space Solutions reported a threefold rise in the net profit for the April-June quarter to Rs 10 crore against a 30% jump in operating revenue to Rs 335 crore, driven by sustained demand and healthy occupancy levels across its centres.

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(L-R) Jayant Paleti, Chaitanya Peddi and Rohit Chennamaneni, founders, Darwinbox

Darwinbox bags $40m from Canada’s OTPP: Darwinbox, the HR tech unicorn, has raised $40 million (about Rs 350 crore) from Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP), as first reported by ET on August 7.

Motilal Oswal bags Zepto stake for Rs 400 crore: Motilal Oswal Financial Services has pumped Rs 400 crore into quick-commerce player Zepto, as the startup moves to increase Indian ownership ahead of a planned stock market debut.

ChrysCapital buys 85% of Theobroma: ChrysCapital has acquired an 85% stake in bakery chain Theobroma Foods for an undisclosed amount. The remaining 15% will remain with the founders.

Truemeds bags $85 million from Accel, Peak XV, others: Telehealth platform Truemeds secured an $85 million funding round, with the funds allocated to expanding fulfilment centres to triple its national coverage, growing its team, and establishing a technology hub in Bengaluru.

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GPT-5 may squeeze IT revenues more: With the upgraded version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the adoption of GenAI in software development will rise, exposing IT services firms to revenue deflation risks, Kotak Institutional Equities said in a report.

Infosys’ manpower savings from poly-AI as high as 35%: Infosys is helping clients across industries achieve manpower savings of 5% to as high as 35% with the adoption of its poly-AI, or hybrid artificial intelligence, architecture to integrate AI technologies, said Balakrishna DR, the company’s global services head for AI and industry verticals.

Cognizant to roll out pay hikes: The US-headquartered IT major announced merit-based salary hikes for 80% of its eligible employees effective November 1 after deferring increments by four months last year.

Also Read: Cognizant's India M&A team gets consultants to up inorganic growth

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Cabinet clears four new semiconductor plants: The Union Cabinet has signed off on four new semiconductor manufacturing units worth Rs 4,594 crore in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab, bringing the total under the India Semiconductor Mission to ten projects.

Electronics exporters eye new markets fearing Trump’s tariff shocks: With higher US tariffs looming, Indian electronics exporters are turning to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa to lessen reliance on a single market.

MeitY jumpstarts talks on data centre policy to boost capacity: The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has revived plans for a national data centre policy, first proposed in 2020, but never rolled out. Last week, officials met a select group of industry stakeholders in New Delhi, with feedback due this week.

Pixxel-led group to build India's first private satellite network: Over the next four years, space startup Pixxel and its partners Piersight Space, Satsure Analytics, and Dhruva Space will invest over Rs 1,200 crore in deploying 12 satellites equipped with optical, hyperspectral, and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors.

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Firms seek right mix of human and AI to ace customer service: Online retailers are rapidly automating their customer service using artificial intelligence for efficiency and cost-cutting. But while AI handles basic queries, many shoppers say it fails to resolve more complex issues, and leaves them longing for the human touch.

AI enters the courtroom (quietly): Indian law firms are tiptoeing into the world of generative AI, using it to speed up drudge work and hinting at a shift from hourly billing to value-based fees. The catch? Convincing clients that AI means better results, not just faster turnaround.